Oct 27, 2013 3 min read

The news stories about students killing other students, students killing teachers and heroic teachers and administrators dying while trying to protect students are becoming more and more disturbing.

We in the media opine about the causes and what should be done to prevent such horrific events, and mental health professionals speak eloquently about intervention and treatment. But solutions remain elusive.

While no one has been killed or injured, there are activities occurring at the Bobtown Elementary School in the Southeastern School District that we are afraid could escalate into something more than just adults behaving like children.

A small group of residents spoke to the district’s school board Monday about security issues after hours at the elementary school. One resident claimed cars were doing spins, spewing gravel in the school’s lot. Perhaps more disturbing, there were allegations of drinking and drug-taking.

The activities they describe have apparently happened when school is out for the day and, based on comments from some board members, a possible solution to curb this mischief is locking the gate used for overflow parking for staff at the end of the school day. There also are two pedestrian gates that provide access to the school’s playground, and board member Joe Spiker is opposed to locking all three gates when students are dismissed.

His reasoning: “I don’t think we want to keep the children out.”

Why, if children want to use the playground, should they be penalized for the actions of a group of miscreants?

The school district has a responsibility to keep its children safe, and so do their parents. If the playground at Bobtown Elementary School is an unsafe place for children to play once school is done, even if that time extends into the early evening hours, then we heartily suggest the gate be locked until some permanent solution is found.

While we can understand Spiker’s position that the children should not be kept out of the playground, their safety is paramount and supersedes everything else.

When it has been suggested that providing the district with names of the individuals causing the problems would help, district resident Sandy Hoge pointed out that “no child should be walking onto that playground and seeing what they are seeing.”

Perhaps the board and police need to listen to Hoge. It’s refreshing parents have taken up this cause and, through their deep concern for the safety of their children, another potential tragic headline may not have to be written.